essential albums

In 2014, Saving Country Music reviewed more albums than ever before, and correspondingly the much-anticipated Essential Albums list has also been expanded all the way to the half century mark. Yes, there are still some album that were reviewed or not reviewed that are still worthy of acclaim, but as with all things, a line must be drawn somewhere.

Here they are folks, the 45 albums Saving Country Music deems essential for listening in 2013. I dramatically increased the amount of albums in this list from previous years in the spirit of trying to get more music out to more people. Similarly, I reviewed many more albums in 2013 than ever before. Please feel free to share your essential albums below in the comments section.

Here is the list of 25 albums Saving Country Music deems essential for 2012 listening, and then I added an extra one I couldn’t leave off. Please note this list only includes albums that have been reviewed so far. There are a few more good and important albums in 2012 that have yet to be reviewed. The first 7 albums on the list (from Little Victories to Lee Bains) were all serious considerations for SCM’s Album of the Year.